James Patterson's Catch a Killer on Facebook is Rated 'M' for Mature

James Patterson's new Facebook game Catch a Killer is being billed as the first 'mature' game on the social network. And once you start playing, that's all too apparent. The mystery game - created by the prolific author in conjunction with Sony Online Entertainment - features piles of dead bodies, blood spattered around locations like a Jackson Pollack painting and interrogation subjects who drop the occasional four letter word.

This type of mature content is nothing you haven't seen on CSI or the umpteen other cop/forensic shows on TV, but this is the one of the first times this type of content has made an appearance in a big-name Facebook game. (Before you sound the secret alarm and launch a million PTA meetings around the world -- don't. If you're under 13, you are not allowed to access to the game as per Facebook's rules and regulations.)

If you're someone of age, like me, who has been looking for something a little more engrossing than repeatedly planting crops and collecting taxes from virtual homeowners -- Catch a Killer delivers more often than not. All of the previously mentioned mature content is all part of a series of murder mysteries which you will solve with the help of forensic psychologist and Patterson's most famous fictional character, Alex Cross.

Each mystery kicks off with a movie/animation that sets up the story, usually a murder. You're then called in to examine the crime scene (by playing a hidden object game) and look for evidence. Then, you examine the evidence for clues by solving puzzles, such as matching DNA from a blood sample or putting together a puzzle to identify a set of finger prints. You'll also occasionally interrogate suspects choosing the right dialogue to get the information you want. It's hard to tell if there are consequences for choosing the wrong dialogue, which kind of seems to negate the whole 'game' part of these particular segments. So far, a lot of the missions require you to repeat the same activities over and over, but the varied storylines do a good job at keeping you involved.